This invention relates generally to systems for providing users with status of consumables used in image forming devices, and more particularly, to a system and method which displays dynamic consumable status in a driver user interface.
Image forming devices such as printers, copiers and multi-function devices provide users with the ability to output documents on a wide variety of different media, such as paper, transparencies, card stock, etc. Each of these image forming devices, for example, may include multiple trays for storing media. Users typically load different media in each tray and adjust the tray to accommodate the particular size and type. Some image forming devices have counters and tracking devices which count and track the quantity of media in the tray as well as when the tray is empty. Many image forming devices also have monitors for detecting the level of other consumables, such as toner or ink level in the toner or ink cartridge.
Many image forming devices also have a built-in display and/or a touch screen for providing operator input for control of the device and for displaying operating information, diagnostic results, error messages and inventory information. Inventory information may include the status of the media trays, i.e., what type of media is loaded in which tray, and ink or toner level in the different ink or toner cartridges. Error messages may include which media tray is jammed.
Some network printers, such as the Xerox Phaser printers, are provided with special software which enables a network administrator to view printer input/output tray levels. consumable status and total pages printed (information which is typically available at the printer""s display). This information is available through a built-in web server installed in the printer. Network administrators can access and manage this information directly from a standard web browser or any web-enabled application.
If a user wishes to print a document at a desktop printer connected to the user""s personal computer, all media and consumable information for the printer is available to the user at the printer. However, if the user wishes to print a document from a networked printer located remotely from the user, the user has no first hand knowledge of the media and consumable information from that printer.
In order to send a print job to any printer, whether it is a desktop printer connected directly to the user""s personal computer or to a networked printer, a printer driver must be installed on the user""s personal computer. A printer driver is software which controls the printer from the user""s personal computer. The printer driver provides a user interface which may be accessed by the user through either through the operation system or an application program such as a word processing program.
A typical printer driver user interface allows a user to select items such as paper size, paper source (auto, upper, lower, manual), copy count, orientation (landscape or portrait), color or gray scale. While the printer driver user interface may allow the user to select a tray to print from, the driver does not necessarily know what trays are in the printer, or what media is in those trays. Selecting from these trays is risky for the user unless the user knows the precise configuration of that printer, and even then, the user may not know if the trays are empty or not.
Some driver user interfaces simply display the available media tray choices; some may depict certain xe2x80x9cconstrainedxe2x80x9d choices with special icons alerting the user that it was unlikely that they could select that tray. No tray status or other dynamic information is displayed. Nor does the printer driver user interface display any information pertaining to status or other dynamic information about other printer consumables, such as ink or toner.
A driver for controlling operation of an image forming device, such as a printer, having at least one container for storing a consumable and a monitor for monitoring status of the consumable in the container, according to one aspect of the invention, includes a controller, responsive to a request for an image forming job, for controlling operation of the image forming device from a host device; means, responsive to the job request, for querying the image forming device for consumable status information; and a user interface, responsive to the querying means, for displaying consumable status information.
A printer driver queries the printer for the printer""s tray configuration and displays the results to the user in the driver""s user-interface. This allows the user to know precisely what size and type of media is currently loaded into each tray, as well as any error status, such as being empty or jammed. The user may then use this up-to-date information during tray selection. In addition to querying for status of media, the printer driver may also query the printer for status of consumables such as toner and ink. The printer driver can query the printer for consumable status when a print job request is received, during the time the print job is completing, on a predetermined periodic basis and in response to a user input. Updated information is then displayed in the user interface to provide the user with updated information about consumables.
If a consumable container, such as a paper tray is empty, the printer driver can display an alert in the user interface. Detailed information such as container count, and for each container, media type, media size, container status and container name can be queried and the status displayed in the user interface.
A system, according to another feature of the invention, includes a printer having at least one container for storing a consumable and a monitor for monitoring the status of the consumable in the at least one container; a host device for sending a print job to the printer, wherein the host device includes a display; and a printer driver for controlling operation of the printer from the host device, for querying the printer for consumable status information, and for providing a user interface in the host device display; wherein the printer driver, responsive to the print job, queries the printer for consumable status information and displays the status of the consumable in the at least one container in the printer in the user interface.